Out in the Mountains

 

. for reservations.

Restore yourself in a quiet,
pastoral setting with easy ac-
cess to hiking, skiing, canoeing,
horseback riding, and cultural
events at Dartmouth College
and Woodstock. Reasonable
rates and friendly hosts. A
small B&B in Hartiand Four
Corners, VT. (802) 436-3070

Is that Howling I Hear in Them Hills?

Crow

Did you know that there are 50 acres of
fields and woods, dreeks and trails, a house
and a barn nestled in the foothills of
Camel's Hump waiting for women like you
to play with? Huntington Open Women's
Land (HOWL) is coming back to life after
a stormy adolescence — new paint,
plumbing, basil and by-laws are infusing
new spirit into this once frail project.

HOWL is meant to be a safe gathering
place for women and their children to
educate one another, create ritual, comune
with nature, run workshops, follow
backcountry ski trails, slide down long
open hills, sleep in the loft of a hay
scented barn, gather herbs, romp with your
dog, sing around a bonfire, pitch a tent,
celebrate Hannukah, Hollowmas, or the
holidays of your culture.

A group of Burlington women acquired
this property back in 1987 when one
woman bought it initially and held it while
the group raised funds to buy it from her. It
is now part of a Land Trust so no one
actually owns the property privately.
HOWL has been off to a slow start. Like
many pioneering projects, we've had to
leam from our mistakes, but ever since
February of this year, a stedy group of
HOWLers have been meting monthly to
get the project back on its feet. We realize

.we need to be more welcoming to

strangers, to be very varing and careful
about who lives in the house, to keep better
track of our finances, and to reach out to a
broader based communiyty. At the same
time we need to firm up our decision
making body so we can maintain better
control of HOWL's direction.

Right now we are planning a Talent Show
on December 3rd and a Pesto Dinner on
December 11th (from basil grown on
HOWL) to raise funds for this quarter’s
taxes. HOWL costs over $3,000 in taxes
per year. For just renovation and
maintenance we figure it costs us about
$5,000 per year (and that doesn't include
money for new projects). Last year we
acquired a grant from Lesbian Natural
Resources to bring potable water into the
house and to renovate the plumbing. With
that same money we also were able to dig a
lovely small pond in a hidden meadow to
sun by, swim in and to watch the deer drink
out of.

We are presently Iookin g for “carekeepers”
— responsible women to live in the house,
welcome guests, help fundraise and help
maintain the house, barn and land. You
won’t have to pay any “rent” but you will
need to enter into a “contract” with the
collective on what specific contributions
you will make to HOWL while you live
there.

We are also looking for women who want
to run workshops, hold gatherings, or just
come up and infuse HOWL with women
energy. Come check us out. Don’t forget to
attend the HOWL Talent Show on Friday
December 3rd in Burlington City Hall
Auditorium at 7pm and the HOWL Pesto
Dinner on Saturday December 11 at the
South Burlington High at 6:30 pm.
Everyone is welcome.Call Crow at
8646595 for directions or more
information. HOWL if you love women!.V

 

32 N. Champlain St. Burlington VT. 05401
802/864 ' 7198 0 FAX 802/658 ° 1556

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